Twin Cities Travelers Pack It In

BY JENNIFER BJORHUS
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Corporate and leisure travelers around the Twin Cities are responding with everything from caution to confidence as the U.S.-led attack on Iraq unfolds and the travel industry braces for a steep drop in business.

Some organizations — such as Golden Valley-based General Mills, which has 28,000 employees around the globe — are temporarily restricting some international travel. Others are busily tracking down employees who are traveling abroad. Still others, such as Plymouth-based Carlson Cos., Cargill in Minnetonka and St. Paul-based Lawson Software, say it’s business as usual.

International bookings are down at Northwestern Travel Management, a major corporate travel agency, and president Jack Noble estimates they’ll drop 20 percent.

Other clients have canceled international trips to areas near the Middle East, or now require additional executive approval for international travel. Northwestern Travel was busy Tuesday pulling reports for customers on where their international travelers are or are planning to go.